New Springfield Park and Ride Lot for Commuters

Fairfax County just opened a new free parking area for commuters last month at 7039 Old Keene Mill Road. This 277-space parking lot is located on the site of an old movie theater and Circuit City store in central Springfield. While the county can’t officially endorse “slugging”, this new lot is essentially designed to help slugs. Slugging is a unique form of ride-sharing where commuters line up at designated areas during rush hour and voluntarily get into strangers’ cars in order to take advantage of the much faster HOV lanes on I-395/95. Many of these commuters are going to the Pentagon or into downtown DC. No money is exchanged for slugging, making it a cheap way to get to and from work. “Bob’s Slugline”, one of the very first and most popular slug lines, has operated near the new lot for almost 30 years, so the demand is definitely there. If you are currently slugging, or considering it, this is another place where you can park legally. Fairfax County would like to eventually build a 1,000 space parking garage on the site of this new parking lot. It would be designed especially for commuters. They actually applied for grants in order to build the garage, but were turned down; this new parking lot is considered a stop-gap measure until funds can be secured. The parking lot was funded through a local tax on industrial and commercial real estate, which can only be used for local transportation projects. Check out your many commuting options here!

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